# Do bears really sleep all winter?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-bears-really-sleep-all-winter/785289>\
**Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\
**Created:** [April 26, 2017, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-bears-really-sleep-all-winter/785289 "2017-04-26T14:35:38Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\
**Post date:** [April 26, 2017, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-bears-really-sleep-all-winter/785289/1 "2017-04-26T14:35:38Z")

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[Link to Cecil’s column.](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2534/do-bears-really-sleep-all-winter-plus)

From the column:

> [@](#):
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> One notable aspect of bear hibernation is formation of an anal plug, but I’d just as soon not get into that.

Rarely have I known the big guy turn aside from icky stuff. Come on, Cecil, you’ve whetted our curiosity. Inquiring minds want your take on ursine anal plugs!

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**Author:** ![Flyer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/flyer/32/7298_2.png) [@Flyer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flyer)\
**Post date:** [April 27, 2017, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-bears-really-sleep-all-winter/785289/2 "2017-04-27T01:50:38Z")

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If you can overlook the British spelling, this will help you out.

> [@](#):
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> Intestinal secretions and cells continue to shed during hibernation, making poop even if the bear has had nothing to eat.
> 
> “During five to seven months in dens, bears accumulate faeces in the lower 7-15 inches of the intestine to form a ‘plug’ 1.5 to 2.5 inches (3.8 to 6.4 centimetres) in diameter,” the North American Bear Centre explains on its website.
> 
> “The faecal plug is simply faeces that have remained in the intestine so long that the intestinal walls have absorbed the fluids out of it, leaving it dry and hard.”

> **[Do Bears Poop When They're Hibernating?](https://www.sciencealert.com/this-is-how-bears-hibernate-without-having-to-poop)**
>
> Each autumn, most bear species around the world will ease up on scaring campers and scampering through the woods, and settle in a den to hibernate their way through the cold winter months.

(As an aside, “bear hibernation poop” ranks astonishingly high on Google’s list of suggestions.)

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**Author:** ![Chayan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Chayan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chayan)\
**Post date:** [May 1, 2017, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-bears-really-sleep-all-winter/785289/3 "2017-05-01T19:42:55Z")

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They actually torpor. And for readers, that’s a big deal. Because if a reader were to stumble upon a hibernating animal, they could just about do anything to the animal. If you stumble upon a bear den, you’d better run. They might be groggy but they will come out to investigate.

[http://www.bigcat.org/news/the-truth-about-bears-and-hibernation](http://www.bigcat.org/news/the-truth-about-bears-and-hibernation)

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**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\
**Post date:** [May 1, 2017, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-bears-really-sleep-all-winter/785289/4 "2017-05-01T22:01:19Z")

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I went to a nature museum somewhere where they had a bear anal plug in a display case. It looked like dry poop. Other than the back story about bears hibernating (or torporing, or whatever) there was absolutely nothing interesting about it.